Silo-door.



c; M'. STAFFORD.

.SILO DOOR.

APPLICATION FFLED FEB. 21. 19m.

l 261 ,86%, Patented Apr. 9, 1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET. I.

C. Nl. STAFFORD.

SILO DOOR. y APPucATxN man FEB.21.1915.

Patented Apr. 9. 1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

C. M. STAFFORD. SIL() DOOR. APPLlcATloN HLED FEB.21.19`1e.

Patented Apr. 9,1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

CHARLES IVI. STAFFORD, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

SILO-DOOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 9, 1918.

Application filed February 21, 1916. Serial No. 79,590.

T 0 aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES M. STAFFORD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepin and State of Minnesota, have invented cert-ain new and useful Improvements in Silo-Doors; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My present invention has for its object to provide an improved door construction for silos and is particularly directed to the provision of such a door especially adapted for use in silos of the character disclosed and claimed in my pending application, Serial Number 49,848, filed of date, September 10th, 1915. To such ends, generally stated, the invention consists of the novel devices and combinations of devices hereinafter described and dened in the claims. In many of the wooden silos hitherto constructed and now in use, the door openings are formed between heavy upright timbers, but in the construction disclosed and claimed in my said pending application, the door openings are formed between the edges of circumferentially spaced wall forming panels. As one feature of the present invention, the circumferentially spaced edges of the panels adjacent to the door opening, are formed with seats to receive the door or doors. The invention, however, further includes a novel and highly eflicient door operating device, by means of which the door may be locked in a closed position, or may be moved into an open position and held at one side of the door opening and entirely out of the way.

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate the invention, likecharacters indicate like parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure l is a vertical section taken centrally through wall forming panels adjacent to the door opening, and through the door and illustrating my invention as applied thereto;

F ig, 2 is a horizontal section taken on the line rc2 m2 of Fig. 1, the open position of the door being indicated by dotted lines;

Figs. 3 and 4 are details in horizontal section illustrating slightly modified forms or different ways of seating the door;

Fig. 5 is a view in elevation showing the door seated in the door opening of the silo but illustrating a slightly modified form of the door operating device;

F ig. 6 is a side elevation showing in detail the anchor bracket of the door operating device, the same being a modification of the construction illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, some parts being broken away;

Fig. 7 is a front elevation of the bracket shown in Fig. 6, some parts being broken away; and

Fig. 8 is a View corresponding to Fig. 2 but illustrating a somewhat modified construction.

In Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 8, the numerals l and 2 indicate, respectively, the upright and the horizontal members of the door frame and which may be assumed to be the edge portions of the wall forming panels.

The door may be made up in different ways but, preferably, is made up of a rectangular frame 3, inner boards 4', outer boards 5 and partition boards 6, all rigidly connected by nails or other suitable devices and constituting substantially a frost proof structure. Preferably, the inside face of the boards 4 and 5 are lined with building paper or similar material, and if desired, the partition 6 may be also likewise covered.

Referring now to the construction illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, it will be noted that reversely located beveled or wedge-shaped strips 3a are secured by nails or otherwise, to the vertical sides of the door and that the vertical members 1 of the door opening are formed with beveled notches or seats 1a that receive and t the said beveled strips. Otherwise stated, the beveled walls of the seats 1.n are substantially parallel to each other but at an acute angle to the opposing vertical faces of the members l. With this construction, as is evident, the door must be opened and closed by a compound lateral and edgewise movement in order to carryits beveled strips 3a into and out of the seats la.

To the upper and lower horizontal edge portions of the frame 3, beveled 0r wedgeshaped strips 3b are secured by nails, or otherwise, but these strips 3b both have their sharp edges projected inward so that the upper and lower edges of the door are caused to flare outward. These jointed strips 3" are fitted against reversely beveled strips 2a that are secured Within quite deep rabbets cut in the members 2. The door thus constructed Awith upper and lower trunnions 8 pivotally seated in bearing lugs 9 rigidly secured on the inner vertical face of the adjacent frame member 1. rlhe numeral 10 indicates a lock arm that is pivotally connected tothe intermediate portion of the guide bracket 7 and is provided with a threaded end that has loose engagement with a forked head 11 and threaded engagement with a nut 12. The numeral 13 indicates a stop adjustably secured on one of the arms of the yoke 4 for limiting the outward movement thereof.

With this door operating device, when the door is moved outward by outward sliding movement of the yoke, and then is swung on its pivotal connection to the said yoke, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2, it will be entirely out of the way and entirely 'at vone side of the door opening. `When the said door, however, is swung on its hinge toward the right 180 degrees and then is moved inward by inward movement of the yoke 4, it will be seen in its closed position shown by full lines in Figs. 1 and 2, and may be securely locked by engaging the forked head 11 with the inner transverse portion of the said bail 4 and tightening the nut 12 against the same. The arm 10 then serves as a strut acting on the bail to securely lock the door in a closed position. Obviously, the oblique engagement between the sides of the door and the door opening prevents the right hand side of the door, as viewed in Fig. 2, from being swung outward on the pivotal connection between the door and the operating yoke.

The construction illustrated in Fig. 3 may be assumed to be like that illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, except that the right hand edge of the door is formed with a rounded edge 14 that engages a concave seat 15 in the frame member 1. The construction illustrated in Fig. 4 is like that illustrated in Fig. 3, except that the right hand edge of the door is reversely beveled at 14CL for engagement with an angular seat 152L in the frame member 1.

The construction illustrated in Fig. 5 may be assumed to be like that illustrated in Figs. k1 and 2, except that the voperating bail 4. in thisl instance is arranged to slide through openings in a two-part anchoring oblique bracket 16S-17, rigidily secured by bolts 18 or other suitable devices directly to one of the upright members 1 of the framework of the door opening. 1n this instance, of course, the lock rod or arm 1() is pivoted at 10a to the intermediate portion of the said bracket 16-17.

The door operating device illustrated in Fig. 8 is like that illustrated in Figs 5, 6 and '7, except that the parallel arms of the operating yoke 4 are curved at 4a from end to end, so that when they are slid through the guide bracket 16-17, they will project the door farther at one side of the door opening than when made straight. Also, in Fig. 8, the oblique seats in the oblique strips 3a are formed by inserting wedge strips 1b in rabbets formed in the frame members 1f.

ln the several constructions illustrated in the drawings, the oblique wedge-like-engagement between the right hand yedge of the door and the framework of the-door opening serves to interlock the said door and framework when the vdoor is fastened by the operating devicev at the left hand side. Of course, this arrangement could be reversed, and also the door might be arranged to open either inward or outward. When the wedge engagement at the left hand side of the door is drawn together, `it forces into tight engagement the wedge engagement at the other side of the door. The door operating yoke or device being arranged to move on a line that is oblique to the door serves to carrythe door laterally toward one side of the door when it is moved from its closed position. Vhen the door is moved to a closed position by the yoke, it may also be locked in that position by moving the stop 13 against the yoke 7 and securing the same by means of its set screw 13a.

Yi/Vhat I claim is:

1. The combination with a structure having a. door opening, of an oscillatory bearing pivotally supported at one side of said door opening, a door support arranged to slide on and to oscillate with said bearing, and a door pivoted to and carried entirely by said support, with freedom for sidewise swinging movements in respect Y thereto.

2. rlhe combination with a structure having a door opening, of an oscillatory bearing pivotally supported at one side of said door opening, a door support arranged to slide on and to oscillate with said bearing, a door pivoted vto and carried entirely by said support, with freedom for sidewise swinging movements in respect thereto, and means fory locking said support to said bearing, to thereby hold the door in closed position.

3. The combination with a structure having a door opening, of an oscillatory bearing pivotally supported at one side of said door opening, a door supporting bail mounted to slide on and to 'oscillate with said bearing,

and a door pivotally attached, at one side, to said bail and supported entirely thereby, for free endvvise swinging movements in respect thereto.

4L. The combination with a structure having a door opening, of an oscillatory bearing pivotally supported at one side o1" said door opening, a door supporting bail mounted to slide on and to oscillate with said bearing, a door pivotally attached, at one side, to said bail and supported entirely thereby, for free endWise swinging movements in respect thereto, and a lock arm removably applied between said bearing and the said bail and operating to lock the door in a closed position.

The combination with a wall structure having a door opening, of a bearing mounted at one side of said door opening, a door operating and supporting bail slidable on said bearing and Working through one side of said door opening only, and a door, which,

at one edge, is pivoted to the arms of said bail and is supported entirely thereby for sidevvise swinging movements.

6. The combination With a Wall structure having a door opening, of a bearing mounted at one side of said door opening, a door operating and supporting bail slidable on Said bearing and Working through one side of said door opening only, a door which, at one edge, is pivoted to the arms of said bail and is supported entirely thereby for sideWise swinging movements, and a look arm displaceably applied between said bearing and the transverse portion of said bail, to look said bail in a position to hold said door in a closed position.

in testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

CHARLES M. STAFFORD. Witnesses CLARA DEMAREST, BERNIGE G. WHEELER Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, ID. G. 

